The Wire · Water

Ofwat review finds falling gearing, nine water firms under scrutiny

By Anthony at GridteamAI

Ofwat's review of the water sector's financial position for the year to March 2026 found average gearing fell from 68% to 66%, with shareholders injecting £1.8 billion of new equity and more than £1.7 billion further committed. Thames Water remains under Ofwat's Turnaround Oversight Regime; South East Water and Southern Water are under Action Required monitoring; and Dŵr Cymru, Affinity Water, Anglian Water, Portsmouth Water, Wessex Water and Yorkshire Water are in Ofwat's Enhanced Monitoring category. The sector's average return on regulatory equity was 3.32%, below the 5.60% base return allowed.